Alter Bridge - Live At The 02 Arena + Rarities album review

Burnished arena rock reaches its zenith

It’s easy to dismiss Alter Bridge’s grandstanding rock’n’roll. But while the argument rages on over who the next generation of Download headliners might be, Alter Bridge are quietly waiting for the call. In a year or two they’ll close the Sunday at Download, while we wonder what the original debate was about after all.

This latest collection sounds like a prelude to those (inevitable) shows: near histrionic adulation and pitch-perfect tunes that roar; arena rock writ large. For the less ardent admirer there’s also a disc of hard-to-find and unreleased tracks, especially the rare gem that is Solace, which makes you wonder why it has never seen the light of day before now.